What is HIPAA?
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) was initiated in 1996 to develop regulations protecting the privacy and security of healthcare data. As a result of this work, the Federal Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) published the following privacy protection standards:
The Privacy Rule
The Privacy Rule establishes national standards for the protection of certain health information, specifically Personally Identifiable Information (PII), Protected Health Information (PHI) and electronic Protected Health Information (ePHI). These standards include setting limits and conditions on the uses and disclosures of PII without patient authorization.
The Privacy Rule establishes national standards for the protection of certain health information, specifically Personally Identifiable Information (PII), Protected Health Information (PHI) and electronic Protected Health Information (ePHI). These standards include setting limits and conditions on the uses and disclosures of PII without patient authorization.
The Security Rule
The Security Rule goes a step further to operationalize the Privacy Rule protections defined by HIPAA by addressing the administrative, physical, and technical safeguards that healthcare organizations or “covered entities” must put in place to secure and protect electronically stored and shared data. These protections help ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and security of ePHI.
The Security Rule goes a step further to operationalize the Privacy Rule protections defined by HIPAA by addressing the administrative, physical, and technical safeguards that healthcare organizations or “covered entities” must put in place to secure and protect electronically stored and shared data. These protections help ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and security of ePHI.
Fortra’s Digital Guardian can help you comply with HIPAA regulations
Fortra's Digital Guardian can help with HIPAA compliance through the following capabilities:
Encryption of PHI
Encrypts PHI both in transit and at rest, safeguarding sensitive health information from unauthorized access and breaches, as required by HIPAA.
Audit Logs and Reporting
Provides detailed audit trails and reporting features to document all access and handling of PHI, supporting compliance with HIPAA’s audit requirements.
Automated Policy Enforcement
Enforces data protection policies automatically to ensure ongoing compliance with HIPAA regulations and reduce the risk of accidental or intentional data breaches.
Incident Detection and Response
Facilitates quick detection and response to security incidents, helping organizations meet HIPAA’s breach notification requirements.
How Can Organizations Comply with HIPAA?
Putting robust technical safeguards in place is not only necessary, but it also makes complying with HIPAA regulations easier, especially when data security solutions are coupled with automation to help reduce the risks of human error.
Control Access
Ensure the integrity of e-PHI
Audit Controls
Secure Transmission of e-PHI
Because of Digital Guardian, we were able to identify issues and correct them before stringent breach notification laws were put into effect.
Steve Scott, Information Security Manager, St Charles Healthcare System
